ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey pledged support for Palestinian leader Mahmud
Abbas in his people´s struggle for statehood and efforts to reform
Palestinian institutions.

"Lasting peace and stability in the Middle East will not be possible
until the Palestinian people achieve their independent state and the
honorable, prosperous and free life they deserve," Turkish Parliament
Speaker Bulent Arinc said at a lunch with Abbas.

"Rest assured that all your efforts for peace will be wholeheartedly
supported by Turkey," he said, according to a statement released by
parliament.

"We are confident that you will accomplish in the most efficient way
the reforms required in the institutions of the Palestinian
Authority.

"We will be happy to share with our Palestinian brothers our
experience on reform and extend our solidarity," he said.

Abbas, who was visiting Ankara on the last leg of a four-nation tour
following his sucession to the late Yasser Arafat, welcomed Turkey´s
support.

"We take Turkey´s democratic experience as a model," he told
reporters through an interpreter.

Abbas also highlighted the importance of Jerusalem for the world´s
Muslims.

"With the support of peace-loving nations, Jerusalem will again
belong to the Muslims and worship will continue in Jerusalem until
doomsday," he said.

On Tuesday, Abbas also met with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Turkish business
leaders, who said they would convene a meeting with Palestinian and
Israeli colleagues in Turkey in March to discuss possible joint
projects.

Ankara says it is ready to assist in the revitalization of the Gaza
Strip after Israel pulls its troops and settlers out by the year-end.

Counting on its close ties with both the Palestinians and Israel,
Turkey is also eager to help in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Arab
conflict.

During a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories last month,
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said his country was ready to
facilitate peace initiatives that should also include Syria and
Lebanon.

Abbas´ talks in Ankara coincided with a visit by Israeli army chief
Moshe Yaalon, who discussed ways of strengthening bilateral ties.

Turkey, a non-Arab and strictly secular Muslim nation, has been the
Jewish state´s chief regional ally since 1996, when the two countries
struck a military cooperation deal, much to the anger of Arab nations
and Iran.

Ankara, however, has not refrained from criticizing Israel´s heavy-
handed policies against the Palestinians.

Erdogan last May denounced as "state terror" a deadly Israeli raid in
the Rafah region of southern Gaza, sparking an unprecedented chill in
bilateral ties which his foreign minister sought to overcome during a
visit to Israel in early January.